Closing Arguments In Bill Cosby Trial To Begin Tuesday

NORRISTOWN, PA — An end to one of the most notorious trials in local history could finally be in sight.

Bill Cosby's defense team rested their case late on Monday, leaving nothing but the closing arguments before jurors begin their final deliberations. After decades of suspicions and accusations levied against the former comedian, a decision on his fate could be in the cards in a matter of days - or even hours, depending on how swiftly the jury moves.

Cosby, 80, faces up to 10 years in prison for the aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand, 45, inside his Cheltenham home in 2004. While Constand, who was acquainted with Cosby while she was working at Temple University, is just one of dozens of women who have accused Cosby of similar sexual misdeeds, her case is the first to progress this far in the justice system.

Members of the public who have followed the Cosby case and the numerous allegations of sexual assault against him will doubtlessly recall that the former comedian was in much the same place just less than a year ago as he is today. The first trial against him moved quickly; the defense rested quickly, and many were expecting the jury to pronounce Cosby guilty or innocent the same day.

Instead, deliberations went off for days. As was later discovered, those days were filled high emotions, with exhausting arguments leaving multiple jurors agitated and crying. More than 52 hours later, the jury was officially declared deadlocked. There would be no verdict. The trial was over.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office wasted no time in refiling charges. A retrial date was quickly set for November; it was later pushed back to this April when most of Cosby's defense team resigned.

While it's unclear which side has the advantage heading into the closing arguments, it seems probable that a conviction is at least as likely this year as it was last year, and probably more so. That's due to several key victories won the prosecution in petitioning the court. Chief among them, Judge Steven T. O'Neill allowed the prosecution to admit the testimony of four of Cosby's other sexual assault accusers. In the first trial, just one other accuser was allowed to testify. Furthermore, the jury heard from Constand herself.

And finally, not for nothing: the 2018 trial comes after a year of numerous major male figures in politics, media, and entertainment being brought to reckoning for various forms of sexual assault against women.

Following the 2017 mistrial, one of the jurors who went public said that the trial ultimately came down to whose word could be trusted: Cosby's, or Constand's. There was not enough evidence to go on anything other than that, he said. Much of the defense's work in the trial aimed at undermining Constand's trustworthiness, particularly citing the length of time following the alleged incident it took for her to report it to authorities. Experts with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), however, say this is not out of the ordinary.

“When sexual assault reports are made, delayed and partial reports are normal, and should be expected,” NSVRC Communications Director Laura Palumbo said. “This is especially common in cases where the victim knows the perpetrator. When the assailant is a person in a position of power or trust, reporting is even more unlikely."

The trial has gone on for just over two weeks thus far; Tuesday will be day 12 in the courtroom.

Closing arguments are set to begin Tuesday morning.

>>Bill Cosby Trial: Defense Rests, Closing Arguments Follow

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